In this blog post, I’d like to introduce you to one of my life’s role models, Dr. Jong-Wook Lee. As the sixth Director-General of the World Health Organization, he was dedicated to improving global health and led the fight against infectious diseases and the elimination of health inequalities based on the belief that “if it feels right, do it”.
A man confesses to the woman he loves. One confident person will wear a suit, carry flowers, and declare their love in a fancy place, while the other, more timid, will stay in bed and do it on KakaoTalk. Some people might even keep it to themselves. There are so many different kinds of people in the world. Just as everyone looks different, everyone has different values, and everyone has different people they want to be like, or role models.
In my opinion, the most ideal person is someone who has their own beliefs. We all face difficult trials in our lives, and there are times when we feel frustrated or want to give up because we can’t overcome them, but people with strong convictions always have something they want to achieve and protect, so they strive to achieve it and challenge themselves, so they don’t give up easily. Secondly, my ideal person is someone who has a relaxed approach to life and is sincere in everything they do. It’s so harsh to live a hectic life and not have time to enjoy yourself. If you’re always working, you’ll naturally become less efficient and burn yourself out. However, if you take time to relax once in a while, you’ll be able to enjoy your life more, not only at work, but in general. In other words, the ideal person is someone who can work when they’re working and play when they’re playing. The third is someone who takes pride in what they’re doing and takes pride in the group they’re a part of, in other words, someone who is confident. I’m actually a very shy person, and I’m afraid to take initiative or speak in front of a group of people. However, if you are confident, you can always give 100% of yourself, which makes other people recognize your strengths and try to fix your weaknesses, even if you make mistakes. I have hundreds or thousands of criteria for my ideal person. But among them, the three conditions above are the ones I need most in my life.
There is one person who has had the greatest influence on my thinking and behavior today. This is the late Dr. Jong-Wook Lee, former Director-General of the World Health Organization. Among the many things I admire about Dr. Lee, there are two things I want to learn and keep in mind. First, he acted when he thought it was right. Even though Dr. Lee was the head of the world’s largest health organization, if he thought something was right, he would directly propose it to the committee and push for it, making it a policy of action, not just words. A real-life example of this was when he said he wanted to distribute 3 million sets of AIDS medication to Africa. Although he fell short of his goal, and most people criticized him for not achieving it, he said, “It’s better than not starting. It was beautiful to see him take the initiative to do what he thought was right, not what people thought was right.
Secondly, Dr. Lee was a man of leisure. He was busier than anyone else in the world, yet he still had time for his hobbies, including being a world-class skier. Since WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Guterres would spend his days off doing leisure activities like skiing, and he was a good tennis player, so he would sometimes play tennis with his staff. He was also the head of WHO, so he spoke not only English, but also French, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish.
Lastly, the biggest thing I admire about Dr. Drake is his confidence. As I mentioned earlier, he didn’t care what others thought of him, but he was confident enough to make his point, even when meeting the President of the United States. In fact, people such as Bill Gates and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon liked Dr. Kim’s confident personality with his pleasant humor. Such confidence could have led him to become arrogant and dogmatic and do things that weren’t right, but he didn’t because he believed only in the health of the world. Perhaps it was this confidence that made him proud of what he was doing. In fact, I remember feeling goosebumps when I learned that Dr. Lee was very proud of his Korean heritage and always ended his speeches to the world with “thank you” in Korean.
Maybe it was because I knew such a wonderful person that I was able to become the person I am today and fill my life with confident and positive energy. Just knowing that I have my ideal man in my life energizes me and gives me the confidence to not give up easily, even in the face of difficulties.
